lock
nounEtymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewg-der. Proto-Germanic *luką Proto-West Germanic *lok Old English loc Middle English lok English lock From Middle English lok, from Old English loc, from Proto-West Germanic *lok, from Proto-Germanic *luką from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend; turn”). Cognate with Cimbrian loch, lòch (“hole”), Dutch lok (“hole”), German Loch (“hole”), German Low German Lock (“hole”), Luxembourgish Lach (“hole”), Vilamovian łöch (“hole”), Yiddish לאָך (lokh, “hole”), Danish låg (“lid, cover”), Norwegian Bokmål lokk (“lid, cover”), Norwegian Nynorsk lok, lokk (“lid, cover”). more detail The verb is from Middle English locken, lokken, louken, from Old English lūcan, Proto-West Germanic *lūkan, from Proto-Germanic *lūkaną. Cognate with Dutch luiken (“to close, to shut”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål lukke (“to close, to shut”), Faroese lúka (“to end, to finish”), Icelandic ljúka (“to close, to shut”), Norwegian Nynorsk lukka (“to close, to shut”). Related to luxe via Latin.
Definitions
Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination.
- "Give me the key," said my mother; and though the lock was very stiff, she had turned it and thrown back the lid in a twinkling.
A mutex or other token restricting access to a resource.
- [T]he application must first acquire a lock on a file or a portion of a file before reading data and modifying it.
A segment of a canal or other navigable waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and…
A segment of a canal or other navigable waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and lowering boats between levels.
- Here the canal came to a check, ending abruptly with a large lock.
›+ 26 more definitionsshow fewer
The firing mechanism.
- "I never saw such a gun in my life," replied poor Winkle, looking at the lock, as if that would do any good.
Complete control over a situation.
- Even though he had not yet done so, Jack felt he had a lock on the game.
Something sure to be a success.
- Brian thinks she's a lock to get a scholarship somewhere.
Synonym of Dutch book.
A player in the scrum behind the front row, usually the tallest members of the team.
- Ashton only had to wait three minutes for his second try, lock Louis Deacon setting it up with a rollocking line-break, before Romania got on the scoreboard courtesy of a penalty from fly-half Marin Danut Dumbrava.
A fastening together or interlacing
A fastening together or interlacing; a closing of one thing upon another; a state of being fixed or immovable.
A place impossible to get out of, as by a lock.
- Sergestus, eager with his beak to press / Betwixt the rival galley and the rock, / Shuts up the unwieldy Centaur in the lock
A device for keeping a wheel from turning.
A grapple in wrestling.
- They must be also practis'd in all the Locks and Gripes of Wrestling
To become fastened in place.
- If you put the brakes on too hard, the wheels will lock.
To fasten with a lock.
- Remember to lock the door when you leave.
To be capable of becoming fastened in place.
- This door locks with a key.
To intertwine or dovetail.
- with his hands locked behind his back
- We locked arms and stepped out into the night.
To freeze one's body or a part thereof in place.
- a pop and lock routine
To furnish (a canal) with locks.
To raise or lower (a boat) in a lock.
To seize (e.g. the sword arm of an antagonist) by turning one's left arm around it, to…
To seize (e.g. the sword arm of an antagonist) by turning one's left arm around it, to disarm them.
To modify (a thread) so that users cannot make new posts in it.
To prevent a page from being edited by other users.
- Frequently-vandalized pages are generally locked to prevent further damage.
To play in the position of lock.
- Please don't disappoint me - you are female, aren't you? I have a lingering suspicion that you are 17 stone and lock for Tarankai.
A tuft or length of hair, wool, etc.
- If I consent to burn them, will you promise faithfully neither to send nor receive a letter again, nor a book (for I perceive you have sent him books), nor locks of hair, nor rings, nor playthings?
A small quantity of straw etc.
A quantity of meal, the perquisite of a mill-servant.
A surname.
An unincorporated community in Knox County and Licking County, Ohio, United States.
A town in Elliston district council area, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
A town in Elliston district council area, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia; from the surname.
The neighborhood
- neighborairlock
- neighborankle lock
- neighborcaplock
- neighborcaps lock
- neighborcapslock
- neighborchild lock
- neighborcore lock
- neighbordeadlock
- neighbordial lock
- neighbordoglock
- neighbordouble shoulder lock
- neighborflash lock
Derived
air lock, alcolock, anklelock, armlock, bike lock, bikelock, boxlock, brainlock, Bramah lock, button lock, cannon lock, chinlock, clasp lock, cliplock, combination lock, couch lock, couchlock, deathlock, differential lock, diff lock, D lock, double lock standing seam, drop-lock, drop lock, electric lock pick, Enfield Lock, eyelock, facelock, fermentation lock, fetlock, fetterlock, firelock, flatlock, frame lock, genlock, gimbal lock, guard lock, hammerlock, handlock, hardlock · +190 more
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at lock. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at lock. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
8 hops · closes at lock
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA